


Breathe

by Skeeter_110



Series: Comfortember 2020 [4]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)
Genre: Comfortember, Gen, Kid Peter Parker, Panic Attacks, Peter Parker Calls Tony Stark "Dad", Peter Parker Has Panic Attacks, Peter Parker is Tony Stark's Biological Child, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-04
Updated: 2020-11-04
Packaged: 2021-03-07 22:42:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,409
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26865343
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skeeter_110/pseuds/Skeeter_110
Summary: Ever since Tony became Iron Man, Peter has had separation anxiety. The Avengers have to learn this the hard way.
Relationships: Natasha Romanov & Tony Stark, Peter Parker & Natasha Romanov, Peter Parker & Steve Rogers, Peter Parker & Tony Stark, Steve Rogers & Tony Stark
Series: Comfortember 2020 [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1959769
Comments: 8
Kudos: 269
Collections: Comfortember 2020





	Breathe

**Author's Note:**

> For the Comfortember prompt: Anxiety
> 
> Also, sorry this is so late, I've just been so distracted today with the election.

Ever since Tony got kidnapped in Afghanistan and became Iron Man, Peter has had separation anxiety. There was no question about it. Although, no one could really blame the kid. After almost losing his father four different times within the past four years, it would be a huge shock if the kid didn't develop some sort of attachment issues. 

The only problem was, because Peter and Tony were practically connected at the hip, the Avengers haven't really had to deal with the separation anxiety, so when an instance occurred, they had no idea how to deal with it. 

That was definitely about to change. 

Soon after tucking Peter into bed, Tony had gotten a call from Pepper - who was supposed to be on her honeymoon and not worrying about this kind of stuff - letting Tony know that there was an emergency at their branch in Japan and she needed him to get over there as soon as possible. 

Which wasn't the problem. Tony would gladly go to Japan if it meant that Pepper would actually enjoy herself and forget about work for once. No, the problem was that he couldn't take Peter with him and the three people that Peter felt even remotely - read barely - comfortable enough to be left alone with were Happy, Pepper, and Rhodey. Neither of which were in New York; Rhodey was at his base for another couple of weeks, and Happy and Pepper married each other, so they were on their honeymoon. 

So that left the super-secret boy-band that was living in his tower. Which was definitely less than ideal. 

Peter was close to the Avengers and got along with them - thankfully - but that was only if Tony was around. Peter would refuse to be alone with anyone on the team, so they've never had to opportunity to watch him; unless it was for a few minutes while Tony did something in the kitchen or had to go to the bathroom.

Tony just groaned and rubbed his face, telling JARVIS to let him know if Peter woke up before making his way into the elevator and down to the common room. Thankfully, at least Steve and Natasha were down there watching a movie.

"Hey, Tony. The Rugrat finally asleep?" Natasha greets, Tony giving a strained chuckle in return.

"Yeah, he is." Tony replies, trying to figure out a good way to bring up his question. 

"Did you want to join us? Natasha is making me watch Die Hard." Steve offers.

"As tempting as being able to finally watch an adult movie sounds, I actually came down here to ask you two if you could help me with something." Tony says, glad that Steve managed to open up a window of opportunity for him.

"What's up?" Steve asks, trying to hide his shock. It wasn't everyday that Tony Stark admitted he needed help with something.

"Pepper just called and told me that there was an emergency at my branch in Japan and I need to leave in at least an hour. The problem is I have a sleeping child upstairs and no babysitters on hand." Tony says, hoping he wasn't going to have to come straight out and say it.

"Got it. But, just so you know, my babysitting rate is one free spa day." Natasha teases, Tony releasing a breath he didn't know he was holding. 

"Great, you have a deal. Steve?" Tony easily agrees.

"I-I mean I'll do it for free, but I don't know the first thing about babysitting someone." Steve sheepishly says, rubbing the back of his neck.

"It's easy. Come on up with me and I can give you both the quick run down." Tony says, leading both of them up to his floor.

He quickly showed them where the stuff would be for breakfast and lunch, telling them that they could spoil Peter and just order pizza for dinner. He also showed them where spare LEGO sets and puzzles were, hoping that everything would be fine if they were able to just keep Peter busy.

"So, what do we do about the whole 'separation issue'?" Natasha asks once they've finally finished the tour.

"Yeah, that's the main thing I'm worried about. I don't know whether or not I should wake him up to let him know that I'm leaving - it's going to be bad either way - but I have to leave in forty-five minutes, so I'm going to give you a letter to give him and one of my sweatshirts; hopefully that'll help calm him down." Tony says pulling out a pad of paper and beginning said letter.

Tony has found that a hand-written letter in Peter's lunch usually helped his separation anxiety when he goes to school and having something that smells like Tony - like one of his sweatshirts - also help. 

"I think it would be better if you woke him up and told him. We'll deal with the fallout, it's okay." Natasha reassures, Tony giving a grateful smile before walking into his own bedroom. 

The entire time that Tony spent packing and getting ready, he worried about how Peter was going to take the whole situation. He knew that the boy would take it hard, he always did when Tony had to go somewhere without him. It didn't help that Peter also has never stayed with Steve or Natasha for more than a couple minutes at a time and now he was going to have to spend a whole day with them. 

Tony made sure to pack quick so he would have quite a bit of time to spend with Peter before he had to actually leave. Once he was done, he slowly made his way to Peter's room, dreading every step. Not only did he feel bad because he was leaving his son, but he also felt bad that he had to wake his son up to do so. 

Tony slowly made his way into Peter's room, taking a moment to just stand there and take in the sight of his sleeping son. Peter looked so peaceful, Tony was half-tempted to just leave without disturbing him; but he knew the world of hurt Natasha and Steve would be in if he were to do that.

"Hey, Petey, wake up, Baby." Tony whispers, gently rubbing Peter's chest in attempt to wake him up. Peter's eyes slowly fluttered open, confusion sitting in them when he saw his Dad sitting next to his bed in a suit.

"Daddy? Why are you in work clothes?" Peter questions, making Tony sigh and look away before answering.

"Because there's an emergency that Daddy needs to take care of in Japan, Baby. Aunt Pepper called saying that she needed help since she was celebrating with Uncle Happy." Tony explains, his heart sinking when he saw the moment his words clicked in Peter's head.

"You're leaving?" Peter asks, his eyes instantly filing with tears.

"I have to, Bambino. But it's just for a day, and you're going to have such a fun time with Steve and Natasha. If you're lucky, Steve could tell you stories from back in the twenties and Nat can teach you more phrases in Russian." Tony tries to distract, know it might help a bit to give a to-do list.

"But I want to go with you. I don't want you to leave!" Peter cries, effectively breaking Tony's heart. 

"Oh, Baby, I don't want to leave either." Tony coos, pulling Peter out of the bed and into his lap. Tony just sat on Peter's floor for a bit, holding Peter close to him and gently rocking them back and forth as Peter continues to cry.

"I don't have to go for a while, so why don't you and I go out and watcha movie for a bit, hmm?" Tony offers, heaving both him and Peter off of the ground and walking into the living room.

Nat and Steve both gave him sympathetic looks when he walked in with Peter still sobbing in his arms, Tony giving a short smile in return as he plops down onto the couch. 

"Hey, Pete, look. Steve and Nat are going to watch the movie together with us." Tony points out, trying to get Peter to untuck his face from his neck; which only really resulted in Peter tucking his face further into Tony's neck.

"Okay, Pete, it's okay. Why don't we watch Finding Nemo, huh? Wanna watch that with Daddy?" Tony asks, trying to distract Peter long enough for him to calm down. 

Slowly throughout the movie, Peter began to relax a bit more. He slowly untucked his face and laid his cheek on Tony's shoulder instead so he could watch the movie; unfortunately, the tears never stopped flowing. Peter's sobs did subside, but the tears continued to flow down his cheeks and didn't stop until Peter eventually fell back asleep.

Tony sighed when he looked down at the sleeping boy in his arms, gently pushing some of his curls out of his face. He really didn't want to have to leave, but he knew that if he didn't get on a plane in the next few minutes it would be bad.

"I have to get going." Tony reluctantly says, slowly scooting off of the couch so he wouldn't jostle Peter too much. 

"It'll be fine. We got him." Natasha tries to reassure, Tony only being able to give an uneasy smile in return before going to put Peter back to bed. He took his time tucking his son back into bed, praying that Peter would just stay as calm as he is now; although deep down he knows that won't happen because Peter's sleeping right now.

Tony bent down and gave Peter one last kiss on his forehead before reluctantly grabbing his suitcase out of his bedroom and heading towards the elevators.

"It'll be okay, Tony, we got him." Natasha tries to reassure once again, Tony smiling at her and giving both heroes his thanks before leaving.

"This is going to be a disaster, isn't it?" Steve asks once he was sure Tony was gone. 

"Little bit, yeah."

* * *

Peter woke up slowly, a slow smile forming on his face when he smelled bacon filling the air. That smile quickly slipped off of his face when he remembered it wasn't his Dad that was cooking the food. 

Tears quickly began to slip down his face as fear filled his body. His Dad couldn't be away from him, he couldn't make sure his Dad was safe if he was away from him. 

Peter didn't even realize that his breathing began to pick up until Steve was running into his room and sitting down in front of him.

"Hey, hey, Pete, breathe, Kiddo. You need to breathe." Steve instructs, gently rubbing the boy's chest to try and get him to take a deep breathe in. Peter just shook his head, coughing at the lack of air in his lungs.

"Come on, you can do it. I'll do it with you, ready?" Steve encourages. "In." Peter manages to take a shaky breath in. "Great, now let it out slowly." Steve continues to encourage, Peter following the instructions.

It took a bit, but eventually Peter was able to slow his breathing and take full normal breaths in. Almost as soon as Peter calmed down, he broke down into tears again, making Steve coo quietly and pull the small boy into his arms.

"I want my Dad!" Peter cries, breaking Steve's heart break all over again. 

"I know, Pal." Steve soothes, rubbing the boy's back. "Why don't we call him really quick before you eat?" Steve offers hoping that even seeing Tony on a screen would be enough to help Peter. Peter nodded in return, his tears not showing any sign of stopping as Steve carries him into the kitchen.

Natasha looked over her shoulder from where she was cooking breakfast at the stove, giving Peter a sympathetic look once she saw him. 

"Someone is missing their Father so I suggested we call him really quick before we eat breakfast." Steve explains to her, going to a seat and sitting down in it with Peter still in his lap. He figured there was no point in setting the boy down by himself when it was clear the thing he needed the most right now was physical comfort. 

"Okay, but do it quick, it's almost midnight there in Japan." Nat points out, making Steve nod in understanding.

"JARVIS, can you please call up Tony for us?" Steve asks, the A.I easily agreeing causing a screen to pop up in front of them so they could video chat with Tony as a ringing bounces throughout the whole room. 

"Hello?" Tony greets once he answered the phone. As soon as Peter heard his Dad's voice, he whipped around, untucking his face from Steve's neck, to see his Dad's face for himself. 

"Daddy!" Peter cries, squirming in Steve's lap in attempt to get closer to the screen

"Oh, my Bambino, don't cry. It's okay, I'll be home to you tomorrow." Tony tries to comfort.

"But I miss you _now_! Why can't you come home now, Daddy?" Peter asks, hiccupping a bit as he tried to tamper his cries off.

"Because Daddy hasn't slept in a little over a day, Petey, and he's very tired." Tony responds in an overly sweet voice, knowing that his answer wasn't going to go over well. 

"Sleep on the plane, _please!_ Please just come home." Peter begs, his cries picking right back up. Tony just sighed, and stared down at his distraught son. His heart actually felt like it was being ripped out of his chest at the sight; and he would know, he's had his heart ripped out of his chest.

"Alright, alright, Petey. I'll start coming home now, but I want you to do somethings for me while I'm on the plane." Tony says, Peter instantly nodding his head, ready to do anything if it meant his Dad was getting back sooner.

"I need you to calm down first before you make yourself sick, okay, Buddy? I am okay, and I am going to get home okay, you've got to trust that. Another thing I need you to do is eat, okay? I know you have that bad feeling in your tummy, but you have to eat." Tony requires, Peter nodding in agreement as he sniffled and wiped away his tears.

"And you're going to be here? In time to tuck me in?" Peter asks. Tony was weary on answering this, not wanting to promise his son one thing and have it fall through.

"I will try my hardest, but the plane can only go so fast, Buddy." Tony decides to say instead. Peter instantly whined, tears once again filling his eyes. "I know, it sucks, but if you get to miss me too much I do have a hoodie and a letter waiting just for you on my bed." 

"Okay, Daddy. Just get here super quick, okay?" Peter requests once again, Tony giving him a reassuring smile in return.

"I will try my best, Petey-pie. You just eat good and have some fun with Steve and Nat, okay?" Tony asks, making sure Peter knows to take care of himself until Tony gets there.

"Okay, Daddy. I love you." Peter says making Tony's heart melt like it always does when he says those three little words to him.

"I love you too, Petey. Now I gotta go so I can get to you soon." Tony says prompting both of them to say their goodbyes and end the call. 

"Alright, I think it's safe to say it's breakfast time." Natasha announces once the projection screen disappeared, placing a full plate in front of Peter. 

Natasha and Steve both gave each other wide smiles when they both saw Peter begin to dig in. 

Maybe it was going to be an okay day after all.

* * *

"Pete, come on, it's way past your bedtime." Steve says, pleading with the young boy to just go to sleep.

"No! I can't go to sleep until Daddy gets here! I have to make sure he's coming back!" Peter yells, his arms crossed stubbornly over his chest. 

The day actually went by a whole lot smoother than either hero was expecting. Peter gladly played in the games they were using to distract him, watched a few movies with them, and even ate all of his food. It wasn't until bed time that they ran into some troubles.

"Peter, he is coming back. He even told you so. Come on, I'll even tuck you in." Steve reminds, although apparently Tony promising hours ago that he was coming back wasn't good enough. 

"No! I want my Dad! He's supposed to tuck me in!" Peter screams, the dreaded tears once again coming back in full force.

"Okay, Pete, you win. You can wait until your Dad gets here to go to bed, but Steve and I are very sleepy, so why don't you lay in your Dad's bed and wait for him there - keep it nice and warm for when he returns - so Steve and I can go to sleep?" Natasha offers, Steve giving her a bewildered look at the fact that she gave in so easily. 

"I can do that." Peter hesitantly murmurs, clearly unsure if this was a trick or not.

"Great! Scurry along then, Котенок." Natasha dismisses, Peter giving her a small smile before running into his Dad's room.

"Nat, what are you doing? Peter is supposed to be going to bed, not staying up and waiting for Tony." Steve asks.

"He's laying down in what I'm sure is one of the most comfortable beds out there; trust me when I say he's not going to be awake much longer. Plus, he's in Tony's room, where he'll be reminded of him constantly so it's probably the best place for him to be right now." Natasha explain, Steve giving a short nod because she did have a point. 

Once Peter go into his Dad's room he hopped on the bed, quickly snuggling into the big comforter there. As soon as Peter settled in, his eyes locked onto the hoodie his Dad left behind for him along with the letter.

Peter swiftly put the hoodie on before grabbing the letter and opening up the envelope. It wasn't as good as his Dad being there, but the scent of his Dad and the familiar sight of his Dad's handwriting was enough to soothe Peter; even if it was just for a bit. 

_Dear, my Petey-Pie,_

_If you're reading this letter right now that means you're missing me. Trust me when I say that I'm missing you twice as much. If you just need reassurance that I'm making my way back to you, just ask JARVIS to initiate the "where's waldo protocol". It'll show you where I'm at at all times, no matter what. I love you so, so, much, Petey, and I'll be home soon._

_Love,_

_Dad._

"JARVIS, initiate where's waldo protocol." Peter says, smiling at the name of the program before laying on his back to look at the projection screen that popped up. Sure enough, it showed a map of the earth, and where exactly his Dad's plane was at that moment.

"JARVIS, how far away is that from here?" Peter asks the AI, wondering how much longer he was going to have to wait.

 _'That is approximately two hours, six minutes, and forty-eight seconds away from the tower.'_ JARVIS answers making Peter sigh as he snuggled further down into the blankets. He could wait for two hours; especially now that he was a marker to watch and make sure his Dad was getting back to him.

He could wait two hours.

* * *

Peter felt himself shift, the bed dipping right next to him. It took him a moment to come to, not really registering that another person was now laying next to him until they began to run their fingers through his hair. 

"Daddy?" Peter asks, not even bothering to open his eyes to check. 

"Shh, it's me, baby. I didn't mean to wake you up, go back to sleep." Tony says, snuggling in close to his son.

"Missed you." Peter whispers, already beginning to drift off once again.

"I missed you too, Bambino. Now go back to sleep, I'm here now." Tony says, Peter not needing to be told twice before doing so. 


End file.
